SiamSam Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Who on this forum works for the airlines or is in the travel industry who can shed some light on why the airfares to LOS are so drastically higher than they were less than 8 months ago? During 2009, 2010, and 2011 I was able to travel from Canada to LOS on average for about $1,300 return all in including taxes. I made multiple trips during these years. Now it is a struggle to get anything for under $2,500. What the fuck is the deal!?!? Will it relent or is the current stink the way of the future? Quote Link to comment
TEXASMAC Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Not me, my trip in 2 days from Dallas to LOS was $1350.00. Quote Link to comment
Kahuna Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Maybe they just don''t like Canadians Sam... I been checking regularly hoping my doc will give me the green light to get on a plane and get out of here... Just this second did a Kayak check for flights mid January through March...The least expensive from Phoenix to Bangkok is on Delta at $1232...Asiana has one at $1273 and ANA and Eva in the $1300 range and Singapore Air, Cathay Pacific and Air China in the $1400 range...I would normally fly out of LAX for around $1300 which means I gotta get from PHX to LAX and that flight is around $300 RT...So these flights I have been finding out of PHX are pretty good deals...albeit the Delta flight is from Phoenix to Seattle to Narita to Bangkok....but all on one airline...and total air time around 21 hours...I'm tempted to buy it.... The best times to look for flights are Tuesday through Thursday...the airlines raise their prices on Friday and lower them again on Monday...It varies some, but mid-week is usually the least expensive time to fly... Good luck finding something inexpensive Sam... Quote Link to comment
xyzzy Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Who on this forum works for the airlines or is in the travel industry who can shed some light on why the airfares to LOS are so drastically higher than they were less than 8 months ago? During 2009, 2010, and 2011 I was able to travel from Canada to LOS on average for about $1,300 return all in including taxes. I made multiple trips during these years. Now it is a struggle to get anything for under $2,500. What the fuck is the deal!?!? Will it relent or is the current stink the way of the future? FWIW I recently booked a trip for US$847 out of Seattle. Not sure how much $$$ and effort it takes you to get to Seattle. Korean and Asiana have good prices that I often only find on their web sites. Many don't show up on Kayak, etc. I see Seattle-BKK US$936 R/T in November and US$894 in January. YVR-BKK R/T is $400-$500 more although the two airports are only 203 km apart, very strange. I have no idea where you are in Canada and maybe it's a hassle to go to Seattle but FWIW. Quote Link to comment
Tomcat Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 maybe they slapped a Green Tax on flights, like here in UK the tax alone on my flight to LOS was $750 USD. This is Bus class , i havent turned right for years ,and i assume that this price is Business that your refering to Sam Thats my bet , that your Govt have slapped a Tax on if they are half as broke as us in Europe. Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 TC, Yes the tax is at least half the total price. And no, the price I am quoting is not business class. Xyxxz, Live in the east so getting to Seattle/Vancouver would be pricey also. Kahuna, Maybe you're right about Canadians. Quote Link to comment
xyzzy Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I should have mentioned, for those that could use SEA, the BKK-ICN-SEA flights have a terribly long layover in ICN on the way home. Since I can't sleep on planes I just get a hotel and sleep but it is an added expense. TC: Business Class from the U.S. to BKK is usually $4000 and up. Quote Link to comment
Kahuna Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Got to be a way to save a few bucks on your airfare Sam...Can't you sneak across the border on a bus or something and fly out of the land of the free and cheap airline tickets...If I could save a grand on my flight I'd even suck a pretty boys dick...That's kinda sorta the ultimate goal though ain't it... Quote Link to comment
deepthroat Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I should have mentioned, for those that could use SEA, the BKK-ICN-SEA flights have a terribly long layover in ICN on the way home. Since I can't sleep on planes I just get a hotel and sleep but it is an added expense. TC: Business Class from the U.S. to BKK is usually $4000 and up. I much prefer the Seattle to LA or SFO and then Cathay midnight flight to Hong Kong and then onto BKK. No long layovers and I arrive around noon in BKK. I've talked about this many times, but I'll mention it one more time: using the Alaska Air Frequent Flier program is a fantastic way to get a business class roundtrip for under a grand if you have any miles, and probably not a lot more if you don't. I'll cut and paste this from an earlier trip report, and I think I might create a new thread devoted to this, so I can just point to that thread in the future when this topic comes up. It's just too great a strategy to keep to myself. Cut/pasted from my 2010 Trip Report: First off, I want to talk a bit about my flight and funding thereof. I flew Business Class on Cathay Pacific last year, thanks to some last minute gyrations involving my Alaska Airlines Frequent Flyer miles. I did the same this year but it was far less of a hassle. I try to use my Alaska Airlines Frequent Flyer Visa card for every purchase I make, but the big trick to making this strategy work is that I deduct EVERY purchase from my check register just like I would a check or debit transaction. When the bill arrives at the end of the month, I pay it in full. Always. No exceptions. If you cannot follow that discipline, don't try this strategy, as the interest on credit card debt would make any advantages earned from this strategy null and void.I started my planning for the January expedition in April this time. Checking my Alaska Air account, I found I had nearly 40,000 miles. This meant if I wanted to fly Cathay Pacific Business Class again, I needed an additional 60,000 miles. It turned out that Alaska Air was offering a 20% bonus for instant miles purchased at .0275 (2 and 3/4 cents per mile) which meant that for about $1,035 including all taxes, I could book a roundtrip ticket for January to Feb. 2010. This is a pretty good deal, all considering. I recently went and checked and the cheapest I could find for just the San Francisco to BKK roundtrip portion was $5,445 from Kayak or Expedia. So for a grand, I got roundtrip first class from Seattle to San Francisco, then roundtrip Business Class from SFO to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to BKK. The flight times are great (leave Seattle 6pm Tues, arrive BKK 11am Thursday) and the seat/bed is amazing. I arrive in BKK without the jet lag and misery. All for a measly $1,035!!! It would cost around that much for a Cattle Car Coach Class ticket under normal circumstances. In fact, it was $1100 just for the SFO to BKK leg in coach! A little math reveals that buying the instant miles outright, even if you don't have a balance in your Frequent Flyer account with AlaskaAirlines, would save you a ton of money on this flight. And when I checked just now, they are running a special and offering 30% bonus miles with every purchase! Thus, if you bought 70,000 miles it should work out to about $1,925 before taxes for the roundtrip North America to Asia flight using Cathay Pacific. And obviously, getting the card and using it (responsibly) for all your purchases over the next year or two could cut those costs dramatically. Quote Link to comment
deepthroat Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I just checked and the increased costs have also been implemented on the "buy miles" offer. They no longer offer ANY bonus miles with purchase, so extra miles cost $27.50 per 1000 miles. This means that if you need to buy all 100,000 miles (the amount necessary for free R/T business class from North America including Canada to Asia on Cathay Pacific) then it would cost you 100 x $27.50 = $2,750. Sure was a sweet deal a couple years ago when they offered 30% bonus miles! Also I should mention that Coach Fare only costs 60,000 miles. BUT: If you plan ahead it's easy to get these costs down. I currently have nearly 50,000 miles in the bank, and won't need to book my next trip until February so I should be able to get that for the cost of about 20-30,00 miles (approx. $550-825 based upon current miles cost). Also, even if you signed up today there are a number of promotions that get you immediate miles: 25,000 Bonus Miles on Approval with Visa Signature Earn 25,000 Bonus Miles upon approval. That's enough miles for a round-trip Coach Super Saver award flight anywhere Alaska Airlines flies in the continental U.S., Alaska or Canada. 20,000 After First Purchase with Visa Business Card Earn 20,000 Bonus Miles after first purchase. Continue earning miles for all of your business purchases, and earn 3 miles for every dollar spent with Alaska Airlines. 2,500 Bonus Miles per Approved Visa Referral Earn 2,500 Mileage Plan Bonus Miles for each person you refer who applies and is approved for a new card. 1 Quote Link to comment
Hefe Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Like DT I have been mildly obsessive collecting FF miles the last 10+ years. Usually I buy the cheapest transpacific flight & then upgrade to business class with FF miles & copay, a couple of years ago this came to less than $1900/trip. This way I also got FF miles for the trips as well. When I was younger I would just grab the cheapest possible coach fare to just get over there, one year in the 90s I flew as a courier, a few years later I found a RT NYC/BKK on AA for $359, my best score ever. But at this point in life I prefer the front of the plane, but the total for upgrading from the cheapest coach seat to business is now typically $2100+... a figure that gives me pause. So I've cashed in some of my FF miles for an award last week: NYC/NRT/BKK in First Class on JAL, total cost to me $106! This may be my best score to date: lie flat bed w blankets in a private pod that contains a nice seat & a 19" TV. Only 8 seats total in the front with several Japanese FAs to coddle me with sushi & Chivas ...hobnobbing with the swells. :-) Cherry on the whipped cream was when I was finishing the award call & the agent said "Oh, you have our credit card, so you'll get a 10K FF point rebate!" I may hope the journey takes longer than usual, certainly looking forward to the experience. Quote Link to comment
Kahuna Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Here ya go Sam...From Detroit to Bangkok mid January ...$1460 on Delta...$1481 on United...$1490 on ANA...$1500 on China Air...I'll loan you my passport... Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Here ya go Sam...From Detroit to Bangkok mid January ...$1460 on Delta...$1481 on United...$1490 on ANA...$1500 on China Air...I'll loan you my passport... Don't wanna borrow you passport Mr. Kahuna. I'd be more interested in borrowing the $1,500. Quote Link to comment
deepthroat Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Don't wanna borrow you passport Mr. Kahuna. I'd be more interested in borrowing the $1,500. I could help out, I've got a few documents for you to fill out first. Would 15% interest seem about right? Quote Link to comment
Kahuna Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Sam...14.5% at the Bank of Kahuna...and you'll also get a free toaster... Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Sam...14.5% at the Bank of Kahuna...and you'll also get a free toaster... Deepthroat? Your move. And be bold. Quote Link to comment
deepthroat Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Try this site, I just got an email from trip advisor.com which showed airfares using this site for roundtrips to Bangkok http://www.budgetair.ca/results/index.jsp?s=43935201&tab=1&startItinId=0&cb=48216567234 As a test I entered a round trip from Cnuckland to BKK on January 30 returning around the middle of February, and it came back with the price of around $1200 Canadian Quote Link to comment
Kahuna Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 That's a pretty good find DT...Thanks...It's about $30 cheaper from PHX than Kayak... But you don't get a toaster... Quote Link to comment
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